Moral messages revealed in jack worthing`s character development in Wilde`s the Importance of being earnest - USD Repository

  

MORAL MESSAGES REVEALED IN JACK WORTHING’S

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN WILDE’S THE IMPORTANCE OF

BEING EARNEST

  AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

PRASETIO WIJAKSONO

  Student Number: 024214071

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

2007

  WHEN YOU NEVER TRY YOU WILL NEVER KNOW (CHRIS Martin)

  

FOR MY FAMILY: ISMINTO BUDI,

BUDININNGSIH, MITA, DINA, CRISTINA,

HADI, JOSE, KAKA, ADJANI, MBAH

NARNO, AND YOHANES

  

SUKANDAR’S FAMILY, NINA’S

FAMILY, DYAH, NORAH JONES, YEU,

CLANCY AND GARRY, MUSE, THE

KILLERS, J-ROCK, LARUKU, COLDPLAY,

KEANE, INCUBUS AND SEVENENDERS

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  I would like to thank God for everything. God is always be there whenever I come to Him. I am very grateful to Him because he always supports and guides me.

  I would like to show my appreciation to Sanata Dharma University faculty members and Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum. my advisor, for all her advice.

  Furthermore, she is very patient although I am always late to meet her and submit my thesis. I would also thank Tatang Iskarna for being my co-advisor. I really appreciate his suggestion because it has improved my thesis. Furthermore, I thank him for reading my thesis quickly

  I would thank my parents and my sister for their support and Cristina for the motivation. I would like to say a big thank to Garry and Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU) who have lend me their computer to write this thesis. I would thank Fail 4, the morons, Ferdi ndut, Dyah, Nina, Alfi, Mita, Clancy and all my friends in the English Letters 2002. I would show my gratitude to my YEU’s team Rita Ambarsari, Gembong, Andi, Joko and all my cadres in Plaosan.

  Finally, I would like to thank everyone whom I forgot to name who has helped me finish this thesis. I thank them for their support and motivation Prasetio Wijaksono

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  TITLE PAGE …………………………………………………………… i APPROVAL PAGE ……………………………………………………… ii MOTTO PAGE ………………………………………………………….. iii DEDICATION PAGE …………………………………………………… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………… v TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………… vi ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………… vii ABSTRAK ………………………………………………………………. viii

  CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ……………………………………… 1 A. Background of the Study …………………………………… 1 B. Problem Formulation ……………………………………… 4 C. Objectives of the Study …………………………………….. 4 D. Definition of Terms ………………………………………… 5

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………….. 7

A. Review on Related Studies ………………………………….. 7 B. Review on Related Theories ………………………………… 11

  1. Theory on Character and Characterization ………………… 11

  2. Theory on message ………………………………………… 15

  3. The Relation between Literature and Moral ……………… 16

  4. Theory on Moral ……………………………..……………. 17

  C. Theoretical Framework ………………………………………18

  

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY …………………………………… 20

A. Object of the Study ………………………………………….. 20 B. Approach of the Study ……………………………………… 21 C. Method of the Study ………………………………………… 21

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS …………………………………………… 24

A. The Characteristics of Jack Worthing ……………………… 24 B. The Character Development of Jack Wortihng ……………… 33 C. The Moral Messages through Jack’s Worthing Character …… 40

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION ………………………………………… 46

BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………… 51

APPENDICES ………………………………………………………… 53

Appendix 1: Biography of Oscar Wilde ……………………… 53 Appendix 2: Summary of the story ……………………… 54

  

ABSTRACT

  PRASETIO WIJAKSONO (2007). Moral Messages Revealed in Jack

  

Worthing’s Character Development in Wilde’s The Importance of Being

Earnest. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata

Dharma University.

  The Importance of Being Earnest is one of Oscar Wilde’s plays which

  describes hypocrisy in the Victorian Age. The play describes how the major character, Jack Worthing, is a hypocrite. In the play, hypocrisy is shown by the behaviour of the characters. However, Jack Worthing, in the end of the play, becomes a different person. His hypocrite character has changed into honest character.

  In this study, there are three objectives to guide the analysis. The first objective is to understand the early characteristics of Jack Worthing in the play. The second objective is to find out the character development of Jack Worthing as described in the story. The third objective is to see the moral messages. The moral messages reveal through Jack Worthing’s character development.

  In order to support this thesis, the data and theories are collected from some books and the internet. The moral-philosophy approach is applied in this study. It is used to analyze the main characters, and observe the morality inside the play.

  The analysis shows that Jack Worthing is a person with many characteristics. Because of the situation, he becomes a hypocrite in order to accomplish his plan. Jack never thinks that he would be a hypocrite. His actions, changing his name and trying to be somebody else, lead him into a complicated situation between his love and his family. Later, the characteristics of Jack Worthing change into a different person. The characteristics are developed. From the character development, it is seen that to be a hypocrite is pointless. Based on this point, there are moral messages that can be learnt from the story. The moral messages are taught by the characters in the play. Their character in the society and their character development will show the morality of the Victorian Age society.

  

ABSTRAK

  PRASETIO WIJAKSONO (2007). Moral Messages Revealed in Jack

  

Worthing’s Character Development in Wilde’s The Importance of Being

Earnest. Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata

Dharma University.

  The Importance of Being Earnest merupakan salah satu drama terbaik karya Oscar Wilde yang mendeskripsikan kemunafikan pada zaman Victoria.

  Drama tersebut menggambarkan bagaimana tokoh utamanya, Jack Worthing, adalah seorang yang munafik. Dalam drama tersebut, kemunafikan ditunjukan oleh perilaku para tokohnya. Tetapi, di akhir drama, Jack menjadi seseorang yang berbeda. tokohnya telah berubah menjadi positif, menjadi seseorang yang jujur.

  Dalam studi ini, terdapat tiga pertanyaan yang dirumuskan untuk memandu analisis. Pertanyaan pertama adalah untuk mengerti karakteristik awal dari Jack Worthing dalam drama tersebut. Pertanyaan kedua adalah untuk mengungkap perubahan karakter Jack Worthing seperti yang digambarkan dalam cerita tersebut. Pertanyaan ketiga adalah untuk melihat pesan-pesan moral yang muncul dari perubahan karakter Jack Worthing.

  Untuk membantu penyusunan tesis ini, data dan teori-teori didapat dari beberapa buku dan internet. Pendekatan moral-filosofi digunakan dalam studi ini. Pendekatan ini digunakan untuk menganalisa karakter tokoh utama dan moralitas yang ada pada drama tersebut.

  Analisis ini akan menunjukkan bahwa Jack Worthing adalah seseorang yang mempunyai banyak karakteristik. Karena keadaan, dia menjadi seorang yang munafik untuk mencapai rencananya. Jack tidak pernah berpikir bahwa dia akan menjadi seorang yang munafik. Tindakannnya dengan mengubah nama dan berusaha untuk menjadi orang lain telah membimbing Jack pada situasi yang rumit antara cinta dan keluarga. Pada saatnya, karakteristik Jack Worthing berubah menjadi orang yang berbeda. Karakteristik-karakteristiknya berubah. Dari perubahan karakter, terlihat bawa menjadi munafik adalah sia- sia. Berdasarkan poin tersebut, ada beberapa pesan moral yang dapat di petik dari cerita tersebut. Pesan- pesan moral diajarkan oleh para karakter. Karakter mereka di dalam masyarakat dan perubahan karakter mencerminkan moralitas masyarakat pada zaman Victoria.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Literature is a social institution that uses a social creation, i.e. language as its

  medium. It is the representation which is in a large measure, a social reality (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 94). A literary work is created by using social creations to represent the social reality. For some people, literary work is something precious that gives knowledge and pleasure for those who read it. According to Wellek and Warren, a literary work does not only please the readers, but also gives them a kind of knowledge (1956: 30-31). Genres of literary works are poetry, prose, drama. There are so many kinds of literary works in the world.

  In this thesis, the writer tries to analyze one of the genres of literary works, which is a drama. Inside drama, we can see many kinds of character, society, and even philosophical idea. Many people like to watch a drama because it gives us pleasure and knowledge. It is exciting to find out the element inside drama, such as the plot, the character and other elements that the author has created. The writer was interested in one of the Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest.

  The writer in this thesis will focus on the moral message which is seen in the play The Importance of Being Earnest. In the play, Oscar Wilde tries to show the moral message from the behaviours of the society in the Victorian Age Era. It is important for Oscar Wilde to criticize the society in the Victorian Age because the Victorian period is now often regarded as one of many contradictions. It is easy

  2 for many to see a clash between the widespread cultivation of an outward appearance of dignity and restraint, and the widespread presence of many arguably deplorable phenomena. These include prostitution, child labour, and having an economy based largely on what many would now see as the exploitation of colonies through imperialism, and of the working classes. The expression "Victorian values" thus may be two-edged (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victorian_Era). Based on that opinion, the writer thinks that moral message needs to be studied in order people can achieve positive values from this.

  In order to support the study, the writer chooses The Importance of Being

  Earnest to be analyzed because it is suitable for the writer’s topic. The Importance of Being Earnest is about Jack Worthing who lives in Victorian Age Era. Jack is a

  man who must be responsible for his niece and his family name as one of the noble people in his village. After years taking care of his family, Jack wants something more in his life. He was bored with his daily life in the village. Because of his degree in the society, he could not do a selfish action like left the village just for a pleasure. In order to succeed his plan and avoiding negative judgments from the society, he creates a fiction brother, Ernest. Jack uses his fiction brother to excuse him to go to London looking for pleasures. In London, he meets Gwendolen Fairfax, the daughter of Lady Bracknell.

  The romance between Jack and Gwendolen was rising in London. At that time, the name of Ernest has become popular among ladies. The name of Ernest seems to give satisfaction or guarantee in life for Gwendolen and Jack’s niece,

  3 Cecily. Jack was introduced himself as Ernest to Gwendolen. However, this deception soon will be discovered. It was seen when Jack tried to propose Gwendolen. He tried to send a signal to Gwendolen that his real name is not Ernest but Jack. However, Gwendolen rejected to get married with a man whose name was Jack. She thought that Ernest is a nice name and it was a name that any women would agree to get married with. Jack was facing many challenges in order to achieve his happiness with Gwendolen. However, his problems were created by himself. His deceptions were the source. In the last part of the story, Jack took many values from his mistakes.

  Oscar Wilde seems want to say something about his society in this play. He has put in many values about the moral of human. The Importance of Being

  

Earnest itself is actually an attack on Victorian Society, in particular, on its social

  and moral hypocrisy, the social system, the attitude of marriage as a social tool, and the triviality of aristocratic life. Beside the attack on his society, the play also shows the values that can be achieve from the actions of people in Victorian Age. (http://www.courttheatre.org/home/plays/0405/earnest/studyguide/studyguide.sht ml#glossary)

  The writer chooses The Importance of Being Earnest because Oscar Wilde tends to draw the moral messages through the Victorian Age people. Although in this thesis, the writer just analyzes the moral messages through one character. The writer tries to explore moral messages through the character of Jack Worthing. In

  

The Importance of Being Earnest, it seems that Oscar Wilde wants to share his

  ideas about the Victorian Age society. It is seen when he presents Jack Worthing

  4 as the main character who has two identities. The purpose is to avoid him for negative judgments from the society. Another reason why the writer chooses this

  th work is because the play is very famous in the late 19 century and still until now.

  Many excellent credits were given to him because of it. The Importance of Being

Earnest has makes Oscar Wilde become a celebrity in his own time.

  (http://www.Sparknotes.com/lit=Wilde+Oscar=bio.html)

  B. Problem Formulation

  Referring to the background of study in the previous part, there are three questions can be formulated as follows.

  1. What are the characteristics of Jack Worthing?

  2. How do the characteristics of Jack Worthing develop?

  3. What is the moral message revealed through Jack Worthing’s character development?

  C. Objectives of the Study

  The aim of this thesis is to present a discussion about moral messages on Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest. The discussion is mainly to answer the three questions in the problem formulation. The objectives of the study are presented as follows.

  Firstly, the writer tries to know the characteristics of Jack Worthing in the play. In this discussion, the writer will analyze the characteristics of Jack Worthing in the beginning of the play.

  5 Secondly, the writer tries to know the development of Jack Worthing’s characteristics in the play. In this discussion the writer will analyze Jack

  Worthing’s characteristics from the beginning of the play until the end of the play to find out whether Jack Worthing’s characteristics develop or not. Finally, the writer tries to know how the moral messages are revealed through Jack Worthing’s characteristics as seen through the development of Jack’s characteristics from the beginning of the play until the end of the play.

D. Definition of Terms

  In this part, the writer tries to explain some terms in order to help the readers when read this thesis and to avoid misunderstanding in meaning.

  1. Message

  Message is defined as an idea that someone tries to communicate to people. It also the meaning, thought or idea that is intended to express (Sinclair, 1956: 490).

  The writer concludes that a message is an idea or thought which is expressed through a literary work.

  2. Character and Characterization

  Character means personality; it is the mental and moral quality of a figure, as when we say that X’s character is strong, weak or immoral (Barnet, Berman, and Burto, 1988: 71). The writer can conclude that there is a mental and a moral quality inside someone’s personality.

  According Rohrberger and Woods, characterization is the process by which an author creates a character, the devices by which he makes us believe a character is

  6 the particular type of person he is (1971: 80). It means that characterization was aimed to help the readers to understand the character that have been described by the author.

  3. Development

  According Sinclair, Hank and Fox in their book, Collins Cobuild Essential

  

Dictionary, development is the process of growing, changing, and progressing

  (1995: 212). A character is developed because sometimes it has the process of growing, changing, and progressing.

  4. Moral

  Webster in his book states that moral is relating to, dealing with or capable of making the distinction between right or wrong in conduct (1983: 1168). The writer can conclude that moral is an attitude of someone that able to judge or differentiate between right or wrong.

CHAPTER II THEORITICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies The Importance of Being Earnest is written by Oscar Wilde and first published

  th

  in March 13 , 1952. It represents the life in England during the beginning of the

  th 19 century. In this play, Oscar Wilde tries to reveal the message about morality.

  The Importance of Being Earnest is very interesting to read, even brings advantages towards the readers.

  

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde is about the deception of

  one of the characters, Jack Worthing (the major Character) to fulfill his romance with Gwendolen Fairfax and an excuse to leave the Manor House, Woolton, Hertfordshire (his village) by creating a fiction brother named Ernest who lived in London. In an elaborate deception that allows him to misbehave and seen virtuous at the same time, Jack thinks that once he is married to Gwendolen he will be happy, and he would not want to disappear again. ( Http://cgi.Sparknotes.com/hlite.mpl?words=earnest,being,important&pd=0&pag

  e=quotes.html&guide=%2flit%2fearnest .)

  The play of The Importance of Being Earnest tells the readers about the behaviours of people in the Victorian age. In Wilde’s view, Jack’s refusal to acknowledge that he is a bunburyist is what differentiates him from Algernon from a purely moral perspective. Jack’s refusal to admit as bunburyist makes him a hypocrite. Later, when Jack is forced to confess that Ernest was a fiction, and

  8 that in realty he has no brother, he makes a speech about the pain involved in being forced to speak the truth. When, at the end, he discovers that he really has been both Ernest and Jack all along. He tells Gwendolen that it is a terrible thing for man to find out suddenly that all his life he has been speaking nothing but the truth.( Http://cgi.Sparknotes.com/hlite.mpl?words=earnest,being,important&pd=0 &page=quotes.html&guide=%2flit%2fearnest ).

  Jack Worthing becomes a hypocrite because of his deceptions. He also becomes a selfish man when he keeps visiting Gwendolen in London and leaves his duty in his village. Oscar Wilde tries to show the positive values that people can achieve from this play through Jack Worthing’s characteristics.

  Then, the writer mentions already that the story of The Importance of Being Earnest has messages or moral values to be learnt.

  Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest has a title that a play on words embodying the dichotomy in the play between reality and illusion, a dichotomy embodied as well in the main character of Jack Worthing. It is important for Jack to be earnest, meaning honest and aboveboard as well as open and sincere, and it is also important for him to be named “Ernest” because the woman he loves, Gwendolen, would prefer that this were so and fervently believes it to be so. Yet, in order to be named “Ernest” he has to fail at being Earnest, since his name is not Ernest at all. He has been manipulating appearances and reality for some time, and he is soon to be caught in his own deceptions. The course of his travails actually leads him to a pointwhere he can be both ernest and earnest in reality, thus making an honest man of his in spite of himself. http://www.academon.com/termpaper essay.mpl=earnest+impotant+of+being In the story Jack has two identities and both identities are contradictory. In his village, it is important for him to be an honest person and has other excellent conduct. However it is also important for him to be a person named Ernest to fulfill his romantic trip in the town. His deceptions manipulate his friends and his

  9 families. His deceptions lead him to a conclusion that actually he can be earnest and Ernest in the real life.

  According Guth in The Literary Heritage, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of

  

Being Earnest is a farce illustrated confusion and subterfuges as resulting

  conforms outwardly to standards of uprightness that they cannot really share (1981: 602). In this book Guth tries to explain that The Importance of Being Earnest used a trick of comedy to share the injustice social life in the play.

  Carter and McRae in The Routledge History of Literature in English stated that there is a revelation of a hypocritical society behind ‘the swallow mask of manners’ that is giving resonance to the play which Wilde’s own destiny is underscored (1983: 342). The statement here is to show Wilde’s opinion about his own society. Wilde criticizes the hypocrite people in his own society and wants to elevate the hypocrisy there.

  Eric Bently in The Playwright as Thinker stated that The Importance of Being

  

Earnest is a trivial comedy for serious people, where actually from the first the

  meaning of the play is a real comedy which will be thought unimportant by the earnest and the second is the comedy surface for expert. Moreover, in introducing this play, Wilde is more a moralist than Bernard Shaw, instead of presenting the problem of modern society, he preferred to flits, test and decline with the society so his wit does not lightly show into the darkness of modern life (1987: 173). Wilde in his play tries to share about the social problem including the morality on the society through a comedy.

  10

  Chambers’s Encyclopedia states that The Importance of Being Earnest is a

  farce, where the companion of hundreds of writers also produced similar farces

  th

  during the second half of the 19 century. However, The Importance of Being

  

Earnest has appeared in no other farce than nor writer could introduce in any

  problem of a play at that time. Also it is as an adumbration of new comedy that Bernard Shaw is already fully exploited in combining social criticism with an ebullient sense of fun (Law and Dixon, 1973: 560-561). The Importance of Being

  

Earnest is one of a farce in Wilde’s era that is not imagined before by other

authors and it is a pioneer of other writers.

  The deceptions of Jack Worthing and his way to fulfill his desire were the main idea of the writer to make this thesis. The writer wants to analyze Jack Worthing characteristics, his background, and his environment that support him to misbehave. All actions from Jack Worthing will be analyzed to find the moral messages inside the characteristics of Jack Worthing.

  All of the criticism above shows how The Importance of Being Earnest is very popular in England. Based on the criticisms above, the writer can conclude that the characteristics of Jack developed and have shown the moral quality that can be achieved.

  The development of jack’s characteristics gives the writer ideas and motivations to find the outstanding values through the Victorian Age society as a part of the topic in this study. The writer sees that Wilde is taking the social problem which deals with morality in The Importance of Being Earnest. Because of that, it can be said the position of this study is to search the moral messages

  11 based on the characteristics of Jack Worthing as a member of Victorian Age society. However, this thesis is different from others because this thesis is using moral-philosophical approach that gives a deep discussion on moral qualities through Jack Worthing’s characteristics.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory on Character and Characterization

  Character in a literary work is very important, so that the readers can understand the story. Therefore, the theories of character and characterization are needed.

  In this study, the writer agrees with Barnet, Berman and Burto’s opinion that the mental and moral quality of a figure can be seen through a figure’s character (1988: 71). A characteristic shows the mental and moral quality of a figure to the reader. Based on this theory, the writer tries to reveal the moral from a figure in the story.

  Perrine in his book states that character can be seen through their actions, from what a character thinks or says or does (1974: 68). It means that action and speech show the character. We can analyze the character from the way they speak with another character or what they think about another character.

  The writer also agrees with Murphy in his book Understanding Unseens (1972: 161-173) that characters must be understandable and come live for his readers. There are nine points stated in this book.

  12 a. Personal description

  The author describes a character’s appearance and his attire. It is important for the author because each character has different characteristic and this description will help the readers to have a better imagination.

  b. Character as seen by another readers The author tries to describe a character’s personality by letting go the other characters tell what they see from the characters they run into. The author hopes that the readers will get some clues to understand a character’s personality.

  c. Speech A character’s own words will help the readers to achieve some clues about him. His speech describes his behaviour toward other characters and life in the story.

  d. Past life The author helps the readers to understand a character’s personality by learning about the past experience or important moment that influenced the character’s personality.

  e. Conversation of others The readers will achieve some clues about a character’s personality from the other characters conversation.

  f. Reactions A character’s personality can be described through his reaction on different situation or moments. Based on that the readers will know a character’s quality in dealing with the problem or situation that happens in the story.

  13 g. Direct comment

  The author gives his opinion or comment about a character personality explicitly.

  h. Thought The author describes the character’s personality by stating explicitly about the character’s mind. The author has the ability to tell the readers what are other characters thinking of. i. Mannerism

  The readers can understand the character’s personality based on his behaviour and his habit either the good or the bad ones. From the description of his behaviour and his habit, the readers can conclude the character’s personality.

  According to Milligan (1983: 155) there are two classifications of fictional characters. There are major and minor characters.

  a. Major Characters Major character is a character who should exist in order to develop the story.

  He appears more often than another character. His experience from the beginning till the end of the story composes the whole story. The theme is conveyed by the action of the major character. He also becomes the main of the story because he endures problems, conflict, happiness, sorrow, etc. Based on these, the messages from the author inside the story can be discover by the readers.

  b. Minor Character Minor character is very contradictory with major character. Minor character is a character that supports the main character to develop the story so that they

  14 appear in certain setting. He plays less important and does not have the experience like major character.

  Another theory comes from Holman and Harmon (1986: 83). In their book it was stated that character in literary work can be static or dynamic.

  a. Static Characters The static characters are characters that do not develop or make any changes in their behaviour, appearance, disposition, and their way of thinking. From the beginning until the end of the story, their characters do not develop even though they were influenced by any actions or any problems.

  b. Dynamic Characters The dynamic characters are the opposite of static characters. The dynamic characters are developing in their manner, form, and the way of thinking. They can change in every aspect of the characters but it may also only change in one aspect.

  Perrine (1974: 54) in his book also mentions that character development is the transformation that differentiates the characteristic of a character from the beginning of the story until the end of the story. A character developed if he becomes a different character because he has been influenced by the actions or the problems in the story. There are three conditions that lead to the changing of the characters (1974: 71).

  a. The changing of the characters must be slowly or step by step. The characters must begin from the smallest changes first.

  15 b. There is a motivation that comes from the characters because of his circumstances. Usually a character is aware that he must have strong reason that lead him into changes

  c. A character needs a sufficient time to change. A character can not change suddenly, it needs a sufficient time in order to accomplish it.

  Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods in Reading and Writing about

  

Literature said that “characterization is the process by which an author creates

  character; the devices by which he makes us believe a character is the particular type of person he is” (1971: 80). From the statement the writer can conclude that characterization has a strong relationship with the author, because the author itself creates characterization. Those theories are needed in order to help the writer draws the characteristics and characterization on the play.

2. Theory on Message

  According to Beaty and Hunter in New World of Literature, message is the realm meaning or some easy conclusion that can be simply stated or summarized inside a work of art (1989: 899). It means that message is a conclusion that can be found inside the literary work.

  Henry Hudson in his book An Introduction to the Study of Literature states that a good message is a message that discloses a new and bigger possibility that they do not realize. Most writers would try to tell and to show those possibilities by using their work. In fact, he even tries to create those possibilities themselves.

  16 A good message does not tend to follow general pattern or norm but it creates new pattern based on human values (1958: 23).

  Every work of literature may offer a moral message and there are many types of moral lessons conveyed. The type of message occurring in a literary work depends on the author’s belief, wish, and interest. Moreover, the messages have not been involved by the interpretations that come from the readers.

  The model of literary communication is the author encodes a message that the readers receive or the author sees a great truth that he teaches the readers by example. Usually, message seeks to inform or convince even though it is possible that it seeks to have the readers comprehend and empathize so that the ideas are more broadly accessible.

  Message likewise theme is an important element in a work of literature. Nurgiyantoro defines message as something that an author wants to convey to the readers (Nurgiyantoro, 1995: 325). Messages can be found by analyzing other elements on the literary work.

3. The Relation between Literature and Moral

  Gardner says in his book On Moral Nature of Human that literature as an art is essentially and primary moral that is life giving (1978: 15). Gardner wants to say that literary works, such as a novel, may contain moral values reflected from human life and experiences. In other words, the readers can achieve a moral lesson from a literary work.

  17 There is a theory from Wilbur describing that the study of the technique of literature is a study of meaning, whereas it concerned with the end of literature as affecting man, with literature as it takes place in the human forum of ideas and attitudes (1962: 123-125). The theory emphasizes that moral lesson beneath the story is needed to govern human attitude and behavior. Moral attitude of individual is confined by the personal circumstances.

  From those statements it is clear that a literary work and morality are very close. A literary work contains moral teaching that can be achieved by the readers.

  Therefore, those theories above also support the writer to find the moral messages as seen on the characters’ life and experiences in the play.

4. Theory on Moral Morality comes from Latin word moralis which is customs or manners.

  Morality is about the relationship between human being. Thiroux in his book

  

Ethic Theory and Practice states that the area of morality concentrates on human

  conduct and human values (1995: 3). The morality of a person depends on their action and their relationship between one and another in the society.

  Another theory that helps the writer in this study comes from Rachels. In his book, he states that the rule of goodness in moral is that you should be helpful to people regardless of your particular wants and desires (1995: 118- 119). It means that someone can be judged to have a good morality conscience if he or she does not have any purpose in helping another people.

  18 Rachels also said in his book that someone can not act in ways that are forbidden to others or that his interests are more important than other people’s interest (1995: 126). The theory from Rachels explains that someone can not force his interests to other people.

  Turiel (1983) in his book The Development of Social Knowledge: Morality

  

and Convention states that individuals treat some forms of social behavior as

  moral universals, other forms of social conduct as subject to determination by local cultural or social norms, and still others as matters of personal choice.

  More specifically, these conceptual differences appear when formal criteria for morality are employed which define morality as those interpersonal behaviors that are held to be right or wrong independent of governing social rules, and maintained as universally binding. Prescriptions that meet these criteria are those that refer to actions, such as hitting and hurting, stealing, slander, which have an impact on the welfare of others. Accordingly, the concepts of morality have been found to be structured by basic conceptions of justice and welfare. Based on the opinion above, the writer may define one's concepts, way of thinking, and actions that relate to the welfare, rights and fair treatment of persons are the criteria of formal morality.

C. Theoretical Framework

  In this study the writer uses some theories that the writer have explained previously chapter. The theories have their own contribution to the analysis.

  19 The first theory that the writer used is the theory on character and characterization. The theory of character and characterization is considered suitable as the means to answer the first question. This theory is used to analyze Jack Worthing’s attitude and behavior from the beginning to the end of the play.

  The information, after analyze Jack’s characteristics, is vital to find out the development, related to moral values that is seen from Jack Worthing’s characteristics.

  The second theory is theory of message and the relation between literature and moral. The theories are needed to analyze the message that described through Jack’s character. Furthermore, the message, the moral values of the story can be derived, because basically, there are some lessons in the message of the story.

  Those theories are fundamental to answer the second question. By studying the theory of messages and the relation between literature and moral, the writer will be able to describe the messages that reveal from Jack Worthing’s characteristics.The theory on moral will be applied in solving the last research question. By considering the previous questions, which are answered by using the previous theories, the writer will try to search for more specific messages which is moral messages from the character of Jack Worthing.

  Based on my explanation above it can be seen that those theories are related to each other, one theory supports the others. The writer needs those theories to support the process of analysis.

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The Importance of Being Earnest is first published in this form 13 March 1952

  by Methuen & CO. LTD., London. In analyzing the work, the writer uses the fourth edition of the play, 1959. The Important of Being Earnest consisting of 73 pages and divides into three major parts. The book also includes another story, Patience by W.S. Gilbert.

  The first part of the book is telling about the story from Oscar Wilde is about two bachelors Algernon and Jack Worthing who pretends to be a man called Ernest. The aim of this action is to attract two women Gwendolen and Cecily who wants to marry only with a man whose name is Ernest.

  The second part takes place in Mannor house when Algernon comes to Jack’s house and he pretends as Ernest in front of Cecily. The third part takes place after Jack and Algernon’s deception is discovered. In the end of the play, Algernon and Jack Worthing found out the truth that they both were brothers and their name is really Ernest.

  This play, The Importance of Being Ernest written by Oscar Wilde, is a great success when it was performed for the first time and still until now. Because of it, Oscar Wilde has become a celebrity on his own time. He becomes one of the greatest writers in the world and his works inspire millions of people around the world.

  21

  B. Approach of the Study

  In order to obtain a deep understanding about literary work, the writer needs a certain approach to analyze it. Since the analysis deals with morality, the writer will use moral-philosophical approach.

  Moral-philosophical approach is aimed at moral teaching. This opinion is support by Guerin on his book A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature.

  He states that moral-philosophical approach has the larger function on literature that is to teach morality (1979: 25). According to Guerin, the occupation of moral-philosophical approach is to teach morality that exists on literature.

  Guerin also states that moral-philosophical approach is approach which insists on ascertaining and stating what is taught (1979: 39). The statement here means that the moral-philosophical approach believes on what is taught. In this context the writer sees that literature also taught the readers some norm or values. Based on that the writer believes that literature also teach the readers some knowledges.

  The writer chooses moral-philosophical approach because the approach will help the writer in analyzing how the main character reflects moral values. As stated in the story, the characters show some moral values. Therefore, the writer analyses the person’s character development that revealed moral lesson. In that case, it is reasonable to apply the moral-philosophical approach.

  C. Method of the Study

  In this study the writer used literary research method in analyzing Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The writer also use library to support

  22 the research, meaning that books are most important sources in it. There were two kinds of resources used in this study.

  The primary source of the research was obtained from the play The

  

Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde. The secondary sources were

  obtained from books on literature related to the theory on character and characterization, the relation between literature and moral, and theory on message, such as Mary Rohrberger and Samuel H. Woods in Reading and Writing about

  

Literature, Aspect of the Novel and Related Writing by Forster, New World of

Literature by Beaty and Hunter, An Introduction to the Study of Literature by

  Henry Hudson, Teori Pengkajian Fiksi by Nurgiyantoro, On Moral Nature of

  

Human by Gardner, Literature, Structure, Sound and Sense by Perrine, A

Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature by Guerin, Theory of Literature